Scaled Scrum World Is Changing

Scrum in rugby

Hey guys!

We live in interesting times. Scrum was invented just a couple of decades ago, but now millions of people use it every day finding new ways how to create products with maximum value. However, it is still not clear how to apply Scrum in big projects. The first official guide on this topic (I mean Nexus) was published only several years ago. Today in 2018 a competitive guide on scaled Scrum is rolled out and the Nexus guide is updated.

New version of the Nexus Guide

A couple of years ago Ken Schwaber and Scrum.org introduced the Nexus Guide, the definitive guide to scaling Scrum. Recently (in Jan, 2018) they released the first update. For PSM and PSPO takers it means that some questions related to scaled Scrum could change in the exams.

I remember, when I was prepared my version of Nexus quiz, I found a couple of inconsistencies. Let’s have a quick look what was improved.

The Role of the Nexus Integration Team

In the first version the role of the NIT was a bit vague. So, there is a couple of useful clarifications.
It is not a new management team. The Nexus Integration Team is often members of the individual Scrum Teams of the Nexus.
It is not actually doing the integration. The individual Scrum Teams perform the integration work. If anything, the Nexus Integration Team integrates the people and the teams in the Nexus.

Transparency at Scale

In this update, they stressed the need for transparency. Teams might consider the transparency that exists in their Nexus around integration, the integrated increment, and what their definition of “Done” means at scale.

They clarified that the Nexus Daily Scrum event is “an opportunity for teams to look at cross-team impacts in addition to cross-team dependencies.”

Consistency with Scrum Guide

Based on the recent Scrum Guide change (Nov, 2017) around continuous improvement, the Nexus Guide describes the Nexus Sprint Retrospective event as a formal opportunity for the Nexus to inspect and adapt itself, and create a plan for improvement to be enacted the next Sprint.

Licensing

Now the Nexus Guide uses a Creative Commons license. So, you can share, modify it and even use commercially.

Overall impression

The new version of the Guide seems more mature. The issues discovered after the first publication were fixed. Some unclear aspects were explained.
Also I found a lot of small changes in wording when I was revising my Nexus Quiz questions against the new guide version. Usually I prefer to give an exact quotation from the Guide as an explanation. After careful checking I had to fix almost every question!
If you wish, you could try to compare Nexus Guide v2015 and v2018 yourself.

News in Scrum world

Scrum@Scale

Something interesting is going in Scrum word. As you probably noticed, the Nexus Guide is created by Ken Schwaber only. Where is the other Scrum creator Jeff Sutherland? Why did not he join to Nexus? Who knows…
It turned out he has own vision how to scale Scrum. Recently he published it here: Scrum@Scale. From the first glance it is very different from the Nexus. Probably I will make a comparison and report the major differences here.

Scrum with Kanban

Another interesting fresh initiative in the Scrum world is Scrum with Kanban. Scrum.org announces a course on this topic. It looks like we should expect a new certification in a short time.

Thanks for reading,
See soon!

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